Category: Debt Management, Relief & Consolidation
How to deal with expensive friends
This article is by staff writer Holly Johnson. No matter what I do to prevent it, spring budget creep always seems to take hold this time of year. Sometimes it seems as if the dollars start flying out the door the second the temperature starts to rise. And although I budget for all of our known expenses, the extra expenditures still add up — and hurt. Part of our creep is a product of spring clean-up — mulch, new plants and flowers, and vegetable garden start-up. But the rest? It’s all social — neighbors inviting us over for cookouts, dinners out and card parties. Warm weather stuff. Still, as much as it pains me to beef up our entertainment budget in warmer months, there
A little good news
I feel like lately I’m all “fight, grind, repeat.” (quote credit: Bobby Bones). Sure I’ve had some times out last month, but to be 100{7dabfd103aa443fce219eea47f0f346a11a54ce587a1a0cbb74f06b9f7a304ca} honest and open, they aren’t events I would have chosen to group together into a single month for spending purposes. In choosing how to spend that money I would have preferred, for instance, a date night out with the hubs. And in spite of these times out, I have maintained a pretty steadfast focus on chipping away at my debt. Slow and steady, slow and steady, slow and steady. It’s like a mantra that keeps playing in my head. It was so much easier last year when our income started to sky rocket during the summer. We had two months where
Pros and cons of homeschooling
This article is by staff writer Lisa Aberle. What if the average cost to educate a child was over $5,000 but you could drop it to just over $500 per child? According to a really old (1997) report on homeschooling, you could do just that by taking your child out of public school and schooling them at home. Last winter, after several days off school with bitter-cold temperatures, coupled with a few serious cases of cabin fever, I posted on Facebook that I was “feeling overwhelmed” (appropriate emoticon included) about trying to keep my cooped-up kids from fighting with each other for hours, and I wondered aloud (or at least on Facebook) how homeschooling parents handled being with their kids all day —
Friday Night Update – $100 Hair
Hey guys! Jumping in real quickly this morning (on my way running out the door) to tell you the good news. Last night turned out to be significantly cheaper than I’d expected! YAY! We first went to a total dive bar (The Buffet for Tucson natives) where I got away with buying a single pitcher of beer for the table (for $10, including tip). Then we went to a different place where I got a single glass of wine and a slice of the pizza-of-the-day, fresh fig. We got there during happy hour so the total there was also only $10, including tip. (Tucson natives – the fig pizza from Time Market is life-altering in terms of pizza. GO! TRY IT! TRUST
Ask the Readers: Are you planning to care for an aging parent?
This article is by editor Linda Vergon. A few weeks ago, I got an unexpected invitation to lunch from my husband. His afternoon meetings had been rescheduled and he was coming home early. We went to a little Subway store in a shopping center near my office. The patio area in back has a beautiful view of the picturesque homes on the large canal by the bay, and it’s perfect to just talk and enjoy your meal while you soak up some sun. Not long after we sat down, I noticed three little sailboats making their way up the channel. Now, this interests me because I spent much of my childhood and teen years sailing with my family. I watched them progress, tacking back and forth, and
When to use intermittent FMLA
This article is by staff writer Honey Smith. Disclosure: I am not an attorney or HR specialist. This is just my experience with, and understanding of, FMLA. According to the United States Department of Labor (DOL) website, “The Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) provides certain employees with up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave a year, and requires group health benefits to be maintained during the leave as if employees continued to work instead of taking leave.” The whole point of FMLA is to promote work-life balance by taking a reasonable amount of leave to deal with personal or family issues. Because many situations requiring use of FMLA are health-related, the law also requires that your health insurance be
How I Got into Bartering
Many have asked how I got into bartering. It wasn’t intentional, typically I would be too nervous to ask, but becoming a single mom make me a bit more fierce on behalf of my kids. It started a little over five years ago. I was having such trouble with my son (the twins were not in the picture yet.) He was stubborn and inquisitive and determined like no one I’ve ever met, and this was at 4 years old! The owner and Princess and Little Gymnast soon after they started. I was seeking help, and stumbled up martial arts as a sport of discipline. So I started calling around and visiting martial arts schools with him in tow. Most wouldn’t touch him, he was
Why bankruptcy should be your last resort
(Petrish Dyer is an active military Navy Chief, currently stationed in Japan. Please understand that her duties and time zone may prevent her from responding to comments in a timely manner even though she would like to. Petrish is also the founder of debtfreemartini.com where she blogs and inspires others to live a debt-free life.) A few years ago, I was at my lowest point financially. I was looking for a solution to rise above the financial crises I was experiencing and trying to find a way to keep my home out of foreclosure. I decided to contact a few agencies and a couple lawyers who all encouraged me to claim bankruptcy and start anew. The second lawyer sold me the bankruptcy dream, and
Lofting Beds – Money Well Spent
We spent the weekend in construction mode. I decided a month or so back that Little Gymnast would move into the twins room for the summer no matter what we decided as far as long term housing. He’s just at the age and with them working quite a bit this summer, it was a good time to make the move. I researched bunk beds, custom built lofts, diy lofts and as I was at the hardware store pricing things needed, I came up with my own brilliant, if I do say myself, design. I called my dad as he has years of construction experience and ran my idea by him to make sure it was viable. With just a few modifications, he thought it would work
The 411 on Mobile Payments
Smartphones make it easy to pay on the go. Here we delve into some of the most popular mobile payment methods.(Read more…)
Adam and Emily Financial Update
Hello! I’d like to continue our update since we stepped away from blogging here in February 2014. Here’s what has been going on with our real estate and our debt. Real Estate If you followed our journey previously, you’ll know that we own 2 rental properties (3 units) out of state, and also have a rented guest house at our primary home. 2014 was not a very successful year for us with our investment properties. One unit sat empty for several months during the winter, and one renter abandoned her unit, which ended up needing quite a bit of maintenance and repair. My reserve funds just covered the out of pocket payments I had to make on my properties. However, coming into 2015, all units are rented to
